Toronto Police officers canvassed for video footage and used sightings to focus their search and zero in on the missing girl’s location.Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press
A missing 14-year-old autistic girl was found at a home in Toronto on Thursday after an intense search effort that lasted nearly two weeks.
Police say they are determining whether there was any wrongdoing related to the disappearance of the teen, who has been identified publicly as Esther.
“Our investigation will now turn to whether or not there is any evidence of criminality associated to her prolonged disappearance,” Superintendent Don Belanger told reporters.
Supt. Belanger said no one has been arrested in relation to the case. He declined to reveal details about who was in the home and how Esther came to be there.
Asked how police zeroed in on the girl’s location, Supt. Belanger said officers canvassed for video footage and used sightings to focus their search.
“It’s a painstaking, long process, as you can appreciate, but that certainly contributed to us getting to where we are today,” he said.
Officers found Esther early Thursday afternoon in what appeared to be “good physical condition,” Supt. Belanger said. She was taken to hospital, he added.
In a statement, the girl’s parents, Shira and Joey, thanked police and volunteers for their efforts to find their daughter. The couple said their focus is on her health and recovery and they asked for privacy as they help her heal.
“There are no words to describe the relief we are feeling knowing that Esti has been found safe. For the first time in days, we can hug our daughter and breathe again,” they said.
“To be clear, while this is the end of the search, Esti still needs proper medical care, evaluation, and support, and our family is focused on making sure she is surrounded by the love and care she needs in the days ahead. We are incredibly grateful she is home, but we are still taking things moment by moment, and we ask that people refrain from speculating.”
Efforts to locate the missing teenager galvanized a massive response from Toronto police and the city’s Jewish community.
“We put everything we had into this investigation and we’re just so relieved that we’ve located her,” Supt. Belanger said.
During the search, police said they were concerned about Esther’s safety but did not say what sparked her disappearance. Investigators said there was no evidence she was abducted.
Police treated her disappearance as a Level 1 search, which is the highest level, and deployed resources from across the service. Officers used a drone as well as marine, canine and mounted units. Investigators asked residents and business owners to check surveillance camera footage for any signs of the teenager.
Esther disappeared late on May 15 from Earl Bales Park at Bathurst Street and Sheppard Avenue in north Toronto. There was a confirmed sighting just after midnight on May 16 about a half-hour walk south near Bathurst Street and Hotspur Road.
In addition, Shomrim Toronto, a volunteer community-watch organization, helped organize efforts to find the teen. Countless volunteers put up posters, handed out flyers and knocked on doors.
Community members offered a $25,000 award for information leading to Esther’s safe return.